💰 Program Sites Can Win Up to $5,000 The deadline to submit your project is 11:59 PM EST on November 19, 2026.
Do the young people in your afterschool program have ideas for using artificial intelligence to solve problems in their community or around the world?
The AI Innovation Challenge, created by STEM Next Opportunity Fund in partnership with the Panasonic Foundation, gives high school youth the opportunity to explore those ideas while competing for prize funding for their afterschool program.
Youth identify a local or global issue they care about and use AI as a research and development partner to research the issue, explore possible solutions, and strengthen their thinking. Throughout the challenge, youth lead the work while educators provide guidance and support.
What’s the Prize?
Two first-place winning projects: $5,000 each for their program site
Three second-place winning projects: $3,000 each
Five third-place winning projects: $1,000 each
Programs with winning projects will also be featured in STEM Next communications and may be invited to participate in future opportunities.
Who Can Participate?
Eligible afterschool and other structured out-of-school-time programs serving youth in grades 9-12 across the United States are encouraged to participate.
No prior AI experience or coding skills are required for youth or educators. After signing up, educators receive a free AI Innovation Challenge Toolkit with facilitation guidance, AI safety resources, templates, and everything needed to confidently support youth throughout the challenge.
Final project submissions are due November 19, 2026.
Learn more, review eligibility, and sign up: https://stemnext.org/ai-innovation-challenge
The 2026 Community in Nature Prize Challenge is Now Open!
STEM Next is kicking off the 2026 Community in Nature Prize Challenge, inviting afterschool programs to design and complete activities that connect nature, community impact, and future careers. Youth teams will identify a nature-related issue or opportunity that matters to them and explore the careers connected to it. It’s a simple four-step project that culminates in teams creating a shareable “What You Learned” artifact that can be a presentation, an infographic, a video, or whatever fits your program.
Closing Soon: AI Innovation Challenge: Win up to $5,000
STEM Next Opportunity Fund, in partnership with Panasonic, has launched the AI Innovation Challenge, a national competition that challenges high school youth in out-of-school time programs to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges using AI. Winning entries will demonstrate how afterschool programs help young people build AI literacy, strengthen durable skills, and prepare for future STEM and AI-enabled careers. The deadline to submit your project is 11:59 PM EST on November 19, 2026.
Training: Bring Career-Connected STEM Activities to Life
Join us on November 17 at 2pm ET to Explore STEM Next’s new collection of hands-on, career-connected STEM activities designed for afterschool. In this interactive webinar, educators will get familiar with the Out-of-School Time Top Ten Activity Bundle and learn practical tips for bringing the activities to life with youth using common, low-cost materials.
AI for Education Summit
On Saturday, November 7, join the AI for Education Summit, a free, one-day virtual event focused on what AI literacy actually is, why we need it more than ever, and how to build it in your school, district, and community. Register here.